When most people see or hear a crying child, their first reaction is to provide comfort and find a way to relieve the child's distress. The reaction is primal and instinctual. It doesn't matter what situation or event caused the distress, the decent human response is one of compassion and concern.

Recently, we have all been confronted by images and sounds of children and families in distress. In our name, this administration, following a policy that characterizes these families as an infestation, is detaining and incarcerating children. Without a system or plan to reunify these children, they are separated from their parents and warehoused in makeshift facilities.

Tom McClintock's reaction has been to issue a statement of mangled facts, devoid of compassion or empathy. He champions the "rule of law," yet supports an administration actively engaged in attacking law enforcement officials and flaunting ethical and moral standards. Even the president, realizing the political liability of employing such reprehensible tactics, has withdrawn his support for such actions, leaving McClintock again espousing an extreme position.

Having fact-based discussions on immigration policy is one thing; using children and families as leverage to extort concessions is another. But McClintock routinely supports the most draconian legislative proposals which have little chance of passage, and his record indicates an unwillingness to compromise or empathize with those who don't fit his narrow definition of value or worth.

Our government acts in our name. We deserve a representative who believes in common decency and acts with tolerance and humanity.

It is possible to represent our interests without inflicting misery on others. Choose better. Choose Jessica Morse to be our representative.